Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Sexual harassment in the workplace is still the scourge of the workforce. A high percentage of women have stated that they had experienced workplace sexual harassment.

Some 90 per cent of Canadian women have added that they had experienced this type of harassment at some point during their working lives.

Most victims of sexual harassment are women, though they are not the only victims. Men can also be victims of sexual harassment, though this appears to happen less often.

What is Sexual Harassment?

Generally speaking, sexual harassment is unwanted sexual behaviour.

General Definition of Sexual Harassment

Dictionary.com, unabridged (v 1.1) defines sexual harassment as:

"unwelcome sexual advances made by an employer or superior, esp. when compliance is made a condition of continued employment or advancement."

The American Heritage Dictionary gives the definition of sexual harassment as:

"The making of unwanted and offensive sexual advances or of sexually offensive remarks or acts, especially by one in a superior or supervisory position or when acquiescence to such behavior is a condition of continued employment, promotion, or satisfactory evaluation."

What constitutes the legal definition of sexual harassment is the fact that the sexual advances are "unwanted" or "unwelcome" by the victim.

Canadian Legal Definition of Sexual Harassment

The Canadian legal definition as outlined in the case Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd., 1989 1 SCR 1252, the Supreme Court of Canada defines sexual harassment in the workplace as…

"unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that detrimentally affects the work environment or leads to adverse job related consequences for the victims of the harassment. By requiring an employee, male or female, to contend with unwelcome sexual actions or explicit sexual demands, sexual harassment in the workplace attacks the dignity and self respect of the victim both as an employee and as a human being."

The Supreme Court of Canada also considered in same Janzen v. Platy Enterprises Ltd. case that,

"Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination," because, "Here, the sexual harassment suffered by the appellants constituted sex discrimination for it was a practice or attitude which had the effect of limiting the conditions of employment of, or the employment opportunities available to, employees on the basis of a characteristic related to gender."

In this case the employer was also held liable for the actions of the offending employee.

For more on sexual harassment in the workplace also visit:

• Workplace Sexual Harassment
• Dealing with Sexual Harassment at Work

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